Identity Thief Gets 17 1/2 Years

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Russ

Frantz Pierre, formerly of Parkland, Florida but soon to be residing at ClubFed, was sentenced last week to 210 months at ClubFed and must make restitution of $906,556. What did he do? I’ll let the Department of Justice press release tell the story:

According documents filed in court, from July 2010 through May 2011, PIERRE was the leader and organizer of a scheme to steal from the federal government by filling hundreds of fraudulent income tax returns. PIERRE and his co-conspirators used stolen social security numbers and other personal identifiers as well as fabricated employment and income information to complete hundreds of income tax returns and to claim millions of dollars in fraudulent tax refunds.

According to documents filed in court, as part of the scheme, PIERRE and his co-conspirators would establish fictitious tax preparation businesses and then open multiple bank accounts in the names of the fictitious businesses. In addition, PIERRE directed the IRS to deposit the fraudulently obtained income tax refunds into the bank accounts set up by the defendant and his co-conspirators. In total, PIERRE and his co-conspirators submitted approximately 776 fraudulent tax returns to the IRS, resulting in $5,249,935 in tax refunds to be deposited into the fictitious companies’ bank accounts.

There’s not much to add here. I’m glad to see crooks like this get very lengthy terms. Identity theft is miserable for the victims, and many victims did nothing wrong and are victimized. Now, if the IRS could start fully assisting victims instead of putting them through the wringer….

Posted in Tax Fraud | Tagged | Comments Off on Identity Thief Gets 17 1/2 Years

Why You Use Certified Mail

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Russ

A client was in IRS Appeals contesting the late filing penalty for his 2012 tax return. His return, which was ineligible for electronic filing, was on extension. The extension was timely electronically filed. The client believes he went to the Post Office and mailed his return on October 15, 2013. The IRS said it was mailed one week later. Unfortunately, in a move his records were lost by the movers. The problem is that if you don’t file timely (within the extension period), it’s as if you never had an extension!

The IRS Account Transcript shows the return was late filed. Using the Freedom of Information Act, we obtained a copy of the Administrative Record for his return; that included a copy of the envelope he mailed the return in. It clearly shows the postage being purchased at a post office on October 15, 2013. The envelope has two postmarks: The original (purchased at a post office) and a second from halfway across the country a week later! Most likely, the Postal Service routed the envelope incorrectly, so it ended up going through the system twice. In any case, I showed the Appeals Officer the copy of the envelope, and he agrees that the return was timely filed (for purposes of the late filing penalty) and my client now owes nothing. (My client had already paid the tax, interest, and the late payment penalty.)

Yes, my client was lucky that the administrative record showed the envelope. Yes, it would have been easier had he still had the certified mail receipt (or had the movers not lost that particular box).

Consider what would have happened if he had not used certified mail (or the envelope had not been shown in the record): He would be writing a check for about $20,000. Certified mail costs $3.30 (a return receipt will add $1.35 or $2.70 to that cost depending on whether you have it emailed or mailed to you). Yes, you have to wait in line at a post office, but that’s well worth it when you compare the alternative.

Posted in IRS | Tagged | Comments Off on Why You Use Certified Mail

Withholding Notice Snafu in California

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Russ

The Franchise Tax Board, California’s income tax agency, apparently issued a boatload of withholding mismatch notices. Some (but not all) of those notices appear to be in error; additionally, the FTB’s phone and chat lines have been swamped.

The FTB is taking two actions. First, they are giving all taxpayers who received these notices two additional weeks to respond. Second, those impacted by the erroneous notices will receive a “notice of this action” that will be mailed on Monday, June 13th.

Here is the text of the FTB’s announcement:

FTB facing high call, chat volumes, many questions about withholding

The number of calls to FTB’s call centers, as well as its LiveChat program, has spiked in recent weeks. We also saw a corresponding increase in district office foot traffic.

During the same time, the department has collected and investigated a number of complaints about withholding adjustment notices. To accommodate taxpayers with questions, FTB is allowing two additional weeks for taxpayers to respond to the notices. No action (including collections) will be taken during that time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused, and we are taking steps to reduce wait times for our customer service channels.

We have identified a population of taxpayers whose returns were affected by late withholding reports from employers. Some wage and retirement withholding data was not provided to the State of California before FTB processed and validated the associated taxpayers’ returns.

To remedy this, FTB is re-validating those returns to allow the original withholding amounts claimed. Impacted taxpayers will receive a notice of this action, which will go in the mail by Monday, June 13.

A sample copy of the letter is available at https://www.ftb.ca.gov/current/sampleA.pdf.

Posted in California | Comments Off on Withholding Notice Snafu in California

Answering Some FBAR-Related Questions

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Russ

The FBAR–the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (Form 114)–is due on June 30th. If you have $10,000 aggregate in one or more foreign financial accounts you must file the FBAR. There are no extensions available. Here are three of the many questions regarding the FBAR in the mailbag:

1. “I live in Denmark; my wife is a Danish citizen (I am a US citizen). We have elected to file a joint US tax return. Does my wife need to file the FBAR?”

No. The FBAR is required of US citizens and permanent residents, but not for non-US citizen/permanent resident spouses of US citizens residing outside of the US. However, if you have a Form 8938 filing requirement your wife’s accounts would need to be included on that form (since you have elected to file a joint tax return).

2. “I became a permanent resident in November [2015]. My one foreign account, a bank account in Mexico, has not had $10,000 (equivalent) in it since I became a permanent resident. Do I need to file an FBAR?”

Maybe. The requirement is based on the calendar year, not the two months you were a permanent resident. So if your Mexican bank account had $10,000 in it at any time during 2015, file the FBAR.

3. “Why do we have to file both the FBAR and Form 8938? It’s the same information!”

Because we live in the bureaucratic world, and our Congress gave us duplicative laws. The FBAR is not a tax law; it’s part of the Bank Secrecy Act (Title 31 of the US Code). Form 8938 is a tax law (Title 26 of the US Code) and comes from FATCA. Until Congress changes the law we’re stuck complying with it.

Posted in International | Tagged | Comments Off on Answering Some FBAR-Related Questions

If You Want to Go to ClubFed…

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Russ

…The simplest, fastest, and easiest method (via the tax world) is to withhold employment taxes and not remit them to the IRS. This is always investigated. But at least once a month I see yet another example.

Take the case of Bernard Haag of Piedmont, South Dakota. Mr. Haag was the president and sole stockholder of a corporation, and the sole member of a limited liability company. Through these entities he owned a day care facility. So far, so good. He withheld taxes from his employees’ wages. And as the Department of Justice press release notes, “…[He] willfully failed to pay over those taxes to the United States for all of 2005 through 2011, and three quarters of 2012. Haag also willfully failed to pay the employer’s portion of taxes on wages paid to employees of Big Dog and Concept Development for all of 2005 to 2012. Rather than paying over the taxes, Haag used a portion of the withholdings for his own personal use.”

Adding to his misery he filed for bankruptcy, and also was convicted of concealment of bankruptcy assets. In total, he got 18 months at ClubFed and must make restitution of over $300,000. A helpful hint that I’ve repeated for over ten years: Don’t do this! You will get caught.

Posted in Payroll Taxes, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud | Comments Off on If You Want to Go to ClubFed…

Lionel Messi On Trial For Tax Evasion

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Russ

Football–well, soccer for us colonials–is a big business. Lionel Messi is one of the world’s best players. The Spanish tax agency, Agencia Tributaria, accuses Mr. Messi (and his father) of evading €4.16 million of tax on his image rights. Mr. Messi says he just did what his father, Jorge Messi, said to do.

The trial of the two begins tomorrow in Barcelona; Lionel Messi is on trial even though prosecutors asked that the case against him be dismissed (the judge refused). The court will have to decide whether the Messis used a web of interlocking phony companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid paying tax in Spain. Lionel Messi has made a protective payment of the tax.

The trial is expected to conclude this week. Both defendants face up to 22 1/2 months in prison and fines of up to €4.16 million.

Posted in International, Tax Evasion | Tagged | Comments Off on Lionel Messi On Trial For Tax Evasion

Only the IRS Can Unite Democrats and Republicans

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Russ

Last week Congress held a hearing on the IRS refusing to return wrongly seized small business owners assets. Only the IRS could unite Democrats and Republicans this year, and once again the IRS managed to do so. As reported in The Hill:

“You’ve brought a subcommittee together who can’t agree about what time of day it is,” said Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee, which held a hearing on the topic.

“The capacity to treat people in the dismissive way in which the departments have treated them is the part that all of us really find just jarring,” Roskam added.

The top Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, agreed that this is a topic on which Democrats and Republicans are strongly united.

“On this issue, we are on one accord,” he said.

There’s not much to say on this. There are apparently more than 600 taxpayers who have had $43 million seized that are still waiting for their money to be returned. While the IRS has apparently apologized over this (Commissioner Koskinen has stated that’s been done), I suspect individuals would much prefer having their funds returned. Unfortunately, Kenneth Blanco, deputy assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice, could not give a time-frame when this would occur.

The only solution to these sorts of issues is a rule that imposes the same deadline and penalties on the IRS as are imposed on taxpayers. I’m not holding my breath on Congress enacting this.

Posted in IRS | Comments Off on Only the IRS Can Unite Democrats and Republicans

Individual F: Has Kermit Washington Fouled Out?

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Russ

Yesterday I wrote about the guilty plea of former San Diego Charger Ron Mix; today, the other shoe dropped. “Individual F,” as former NBA basketball player Kermit Washington was called in the Mix indictment, was arrested on charges of corrupt interference with the internal revenue laws, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and aggravated identity theft.

The Department of Justice press release details the charges:

It is alleged that Washington referred professional athletes to Ron Mix, a former professional football player and an attorney licensed in the state of California, whose practice focused on the filing of workers’ compensation claims on behalf of former professional athletes. In exchange for the referrals, Mix made payments to PCA and claimed those amounts as charitable deductions on his personal tax returns. Upon receipt of these payments, Washington diverted the funds for his own personal benefit. Washington filed false individual income tax returns for 2010 through 2013, failing to report the funds he diverted from PCA and false Forms 990-EZ on behalf of PCA. Washington also falsified PCA’s corporate minutes to obstruct the investigation and used the identity of another individual to perpetrate this scheme.

It is further alleged that Washington conspired with others to defraud eBay and PayPal, customers and donors of PCA by allowing the co-conspirators to use PCA’s name, tax-exempt status and IRS Employee Identification Number (EIN) with eBay and PayPal so the co-conspirators could avoid substantial listing and registration fees incurred in operating online, for-profit businesses. Moreover, customers who made purchases falsely believed that 100 percent of the proceeds from the co-conspirators’ online eBay sales benefited PCA. In exchange for allowing the co-conspirators to use PCA’s tax-exempt status, Washington received payments from the co-conspirators.

According to the indictment, Mr. Washington diverted about $500,000 of donations to a charity he founded and used them for his personal benefit. That money also allegedly didn’t make it onto his personal tax return. There are also allegations of fraud against eBay and PayPal, and identity theft. This alleged identity theft was not for purposes of obtaining a tax refund; rather, he used the name of someone without their knowledge as the “Secretary” of his charity on the Form 990-EZ filed for his charity.

Of course, these are just allegations but one thing is certain: Mr. Washington is looking at a lengthy term at ClubFed if he’s found guilty of the charges.

Posted in Scams, Tax Fraud | Comments Off on Individual F: Has Kermit Washington Fouled Out?

Mix Sacked: From Hall of Fame to ClubFed?

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Russ

Ron Mix is in the NFL Hall of Fame for his play as an offensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers. He was nicknamed the “Intellectual Assassin” for the combination of his physical play and his law degree. Mr. Mix’s law practice focused on civil litigation with an emphasis on workers compensation claims for professional athletes.

Mr. Mix paid a referral fee to a non-attorney for clients. That’s prohibited. From the Kansas City Star:

Instead of paying the person directly, Mix donated about $155,000 over three years to a charity operated by that person (identified as “Individual F” in the indictment), prosecutors said. Then Mix claimed those payments on his tax returns as charitable deductions…

Individual F operated The Sixth Man Foundation, which did business as the charity Project Contact Africa, according to the documents.

According to court documents, Individual F falsely told Mix that the donations would be spent on “alleviating suffering in Africa.”

However, Individual F used the bulk of the donations “for his own personal enjoyment and to fund his lifestyle,” according to the plea agreement.

Had the payments gone to a real charity (rather than Individual F), everything might have been copacetic. (This still could have been against ethics rules for attorneys, but the charitable deductions Mr. Mix made would have been legitimate.) Mr. Mix could have used the IRS’s online search tool to verify that the Sixth Man Foundation was a legitimate charity, eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

Mr. Mix has already made restitution. Given that and his cooperation, I expect his sentence will be light. Still, had he followed a former president (“Trust but Verify [the charity]”) it’s likely this would not have happened.

DOJ Press Release

UPDATE: It is clear from reading the indictment of “Individual F” (Kermit Washington) that Project Contact Africa was a real charity. The Department of Justice is alleging that very few of the donations that were meant for PCA actually made it to Africa. (See this post for more.)

Posted in Scams, Tax Evasion | Comments Off on Mix Sacked: From Hall of Fame to ClubFed?

Taxes and the WSOP: 2016 Update

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Russ

I’ll be heading to the Rio Hotel and Casino tomorrow for three days of continuing education. In a little over two weeks, the poker world will be descending on the Rio for the annual World Series of Poker. (I’m probably one of the few individuals who is in both groups.) The 2016 WSOP consists of 68 “bracelet” events culminating in the championship event that begins on July 9th. There are also daily tournaments, satellite events, and cash games at the Rio. Other Las Vegas hotels run poker tournaments, so there are tournaments for almost any size of buy-in available.

I’ve been writing about the tax impacts of the WSOP for years. The first post, back in 2007, noted that the Rio refuses to follow the rules regarding issuing W-2Gs when a poker player presents a correctly completed Form 5754. In 2011 I looked at staking and the WSOP. I presented “updates” in 2014 and 2015 (though essentially nothing has changed).

And that’s still the case today. The Rio won’t issue multiple W-2Gs (though they’re getting closer to admitting the real reason: cost) and the IRS hasn’t come after them (yet). The onus remains on the player to issue required paperwork and withhold taxes when required when the player has backers. (See the 2011 and 2015 updates.)

I have received several inquiries from non-Americans who plan on playing at the WSOP regarding withholding of US taxes and if there’s any means of avoiding this. As noted in IRS Publication 515, withholding is required on gambling winnings (for poker tournaments, of $5,000 or more net) except for residents of these countries:

Tax treaties. Gambling income of residents (as defined by treaty) of the following foreign countries is not taxable by the United States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Gambling income of residents of Malta is taxed at 10%.

If you’re from one of these countries, you should not have tax withheld from your winnings. My understanding is the Rio is authorized to issue Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) to winners. (If you already have an ITIN, make sure you bring that number with you.) You may still owe tax to your home country for those gambling winnings; be aware that the IRS does share information with other countries’ tax agencies.

But what if you’re from a country that does not have a tax treaty with the US? Suppose you’re from Portugal, and you play in a WSOP event and are lucky enough to cash. Let’s say your net win is $100,000. Will you get the full $100,000 or not?

The Rio is required to withhold 30% of your net win, so you will receive $70,000 in my hypothetical. You will also receive paperwork showing the withholding (IRS Form 1042-S). If you owe income tax to Portugal on your gambling winnings, you should be able to claim a tax credit for the double taxation.

I’ve been writing about this for nearly a decade and almost nothing has changed. Eventually the WSOP will be called out by the IRS for their violation of the rules on issuance of W-2Gs (and 1042-S’s). It doesn’t look like that will happen in 2016, though.

Posted in Gambling | Tagged | 2 Comments